Marine gas turbine propulsion uses aeroderivative turbines such as the 25,100 kW GE LM2500 and the Rolls-Royce MT30 for warships and fast craft where power density matters more than fuel cost. Naval frigate and destroyer orders in 2025-2026 drive the market, while a 16 MW ammonia turbine targets a full test by end-2027.
What it is and how it works
Marine gas turbine propulsion uses aeroderivative turbines, essentially jet engines adapted to turn a shaft, to drive propellers, waterjets or generators. Their advantage is power density. Their weakness is fuel: simple-cycle efficiency sits in the high 30s and falls sharply at part load. The base GE LM2500 is rated 25,100 kW at 37% thermal efficiency at ISO conditions, and the LM2500+ reaches 30,200 kW at 39%, according to Wikipedia and GE's licensee MTU Aero Engines. Rolls-Royce claims its MT30 breaks the 40% barrier (The Motorship); the widely quoted 36 MW rating could not be confirmed from an accessible source.
Because of the part-load problem, turbines are usually installed in combined plants: COGAG, CODAG with cruise diesels, CODLOG with diesel-electric cruise drive and turbine boost, and COGES with a bottoming steam turbine that lifts plant efficiency toward diesel-competitive levels.
Why it matters now
Naval demand is the growth engine. 2025 and 2026 brought multi-ship frigate and destroyer selections in the United States, Korea, Japan and Australia, whereas commercial use has shrunk to a legacy group of COGES and CODAG cruise ships and a few fast ferries. No new commercial gas-turbine ship order surfaced in this research. The first new commercial argument in years is the ammonia turbine, which owners note would need no pilot oil in normal operation.
Key players and products
GE Aerospace says the LM2500 is used by 39 navies and that the US Navy has received more than 700 units since 1969. On 10 December 2025 GE received orders for eight LM2500s for Flight III destroyers DDG 145 and DDG 146, four per ship, completing engines for all active Arleigh Burkes: 296 turbines across 74 ships. GE was selected in October 2024 to supply the Indian Navy's Next Generation Missile Vessels (Naval Technology).
Rolls-Royce's MT30 powers the Royal Navy's Type 26 in a CODLOG plant with four MTU gensets and two motors (Wikipedia), Japan's Mogami frigates and Korea's three Daegu-class ships. On 27 May 2025 it was selected for Korea's FFX Batch IV frigates, one MT30 per ship with electric propulsion motors and controllable-pitch propellers (Rolls-Royce). On 21 April 2026 the MT30 was chosen for Australia's upgraded-Mogami general-purpose frigates, built by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, up to 11 ships in a programme of about A$10 billion (Rolls-Royce).
On the commercial side, GE's LM2500+ powered the first gas-turbine cruise ships for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity in COGES plants, with CODAG units on Holland America, Princess and Cunard ships (GE Aerospace).
Figures that matter
GE reports its LM marine turbines have exceeded 600,000 service hours, including 320,000 hours of LM2500+ operation aboard 16 cruise ships (GE Aerospace). Incat's LNG-fuelled fast ferry Francisco runs two 22 MW LM2500s driving Wartsila waterjets, one per hull (GE Reports). GE and DSIC's Lloyd's Register-approved COGES container ship design cites only about 300 maintenance man-hours per year while underway (GE Aerospace). The design was never built.
| Metric | Value | Source type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| LM2500 base rating, ISO efficiency | 25,100 kW, 37% | aggregator | Wikipedia |
| LM2500+ rating, ISO efficiency | 30,200 kW, 39% | aggregator | Wikipedia |
| MT30 thermal efficiency | claimed above 40% | vendor | The Motorship |
| LM2500s on Arleigh Burke destroyers | 296 across 74 ships | vendor | GE Aerospace |
| Navies operating the LM2500 | 39 | vendor | GE Aerospace |
| MT30 Australian frigate programme | up to 11 ships, about A$10 bn | vendor | Rolls-Royce |
| Francisco fast ferry turbines | 2 x 22 MW LM2500 | vendor | GE Reports |
| Hanwha/Baker Hughes ammonia turbine | about 16 MW class, test by end-2027 | trade-press | Ammonia Energy Association |
Developments 2023-2026
- 3-4 February 2025: Hanwha Power Systems, Hanwha Ocean and Baker Hughes sign a joint development agreement in Florence for about 16 MW-class ammonia gas turbines, targeting a full engine test on ammonia by end-2027, LNG carrier and container ship designs by 2028, and retrofit studies with GasLog; Hanwha Ocean holds ABS conceptual approval for an ammonia-turbine LNG carrier (Ammonia Energy Association).
- 27 May 2025: Rolls-Royce MT30 selected for the Republic of Korea Navy's FFX Batch IV frigates.
- 10 December 2025: GE receives orders for eight LM2500s for DDG 145 and DDG 146.
- 21 April 2026: MT30 selected for Australia's upgraded-Mogami frigates.
Outlook
The commercial case for gas turbines, power density, low maintenance hours and low NOx on gas, has historically lost to diesel on fuel cost and part-load efficiency. COGES remains the architecture most likely to be revived with ammonia or hydrogen fuel, and the Hanwha and Baker Hughes test at the end of 2027 is the milestone to watch for ammonia carriers and LNG carrier retrofits. Hydrogen-fuelled marine turbines were not covered by this research.
